Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton will launch his bid for a fifth world title this weekend "armed with a 1,000-horsepower engine" and more than £100M ($140.4M) in sponsorship deals, according to Joe Downes of the London DAILY MAIL. Mercedes has won every drivers' and constructors' championship since '14 -- a "period of dominance" which has seen the team "establish incredible financial pulling power." Hamilton will take to the grid in Australia on Sunday in a race suit emblazoned with the logos of 12 sponsors boosting the team's coffers by a total of £112M ($157.3M) in '18. To "put that into perspective," Man City's kit will feature around £95M ($133.4M) worth of sponsorship from next season through deals with Puma, Etihad and Nexen. Malaysian state oil and gas company Petronas is Mercedes' title sponsor and provides almost half of the team's kit income -- around £50M ($70.2M) per year. Meanwhile, Bose, Tommy Hilfiger, Monster Energy, UBS (finance), Qualcomm (wireless technology), Epson (printing & communications), IWC Schaffhausen (Swiss watches) and Wihuri (packaging products) "are all seven-figure contributors." Hamilton "also has separate personal endorsements with several of the companies" -- including Tommy Hilfiger, Puma, Bose and Monster Energy -- adding around £10M ($14M) to his annual income (DAILY MAIL, 3/19).
